18 January 2011

Population of Oslo reached 600.000

Last Sunday, 16 January 2011, Oslo inhabitant no. 600.000 was born at Oslo University Hospital (dep. Rikshospitalet/The National Hospital). The mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang, marked the happy occasion by visiting the newborn baby girl, Stella, and her parents at the hospital. The baby was given a gold jewel with Saint Hallvard - the patron saint of Oslo - engraved, while her parents, Miriam Nordgård and Lars Olav Vartdal, received flowers.

The population growth is first of all caused by a surplus in births and immigration. The last estimates I have read say that the population will have passed 768.000 in 2030.

This blog is written by Dag T. Hoelseth, a Norwegian historian specialising in royal history.
I have a Cand.philol. degree in history from the University of Oslo and graduated in 1997 with the dissertation Det nasjonale kongedømme. Det norske monarkiet 1905-1910, which dealt with the royal election in Norway 1905 and how the new dynasty "became Norwegian".
I am the author of Historisk utredning om Kongehuset, dets apanasjer og disponible statseiendommer, which was published on behalf of the Palace Committee in 2001. The report focused among others on the history of the Norwegian civil list from 1905 to the 1970s as well as the properties the king of Norway has to his disposal.
I have made contributions to several antologies and also written articles for various publications. More often I have operated "behind the scene", consulting newspapers etc. with background information.
Among my other interests are genealogy, Norwegian-American emigration history, US presidential history, traveling, football and ice hockey.